One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 34: [34] Mission Impossible

[2230 words]

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[Half a Year Later]

[At a Well-Developed Island, Paradise Sea]

Tall buildings with glass windows and concrete structures; a wealthy land. Flying a banner that signified a Kingdom under the World Government!

Not just that, there was a Marine Branch stationed on the island as well, showcasing its significance to the seas.

A young woman wearing a purple cloak and hood could be seen hidden in the shadows of a building. She was currently going around, checking the conditions of the land; scouting the entire island under the veil of the shadows.

Her fruit power was indeed perfect for her job.

"I am finally back home," she muttered with a soft sigh. Looking up into the endless night, taken away by its serene beauty. 

The girl reached out with her hands as if trying to grasp, "There's so much freedom in the skies. I hope I can soar through them someday."

Her eyes drifted further, reaching the bright rock far, far away. "Now that I recall, he said there are even pirates on the moon," she muttered, her thoughts flying around.

Waking up from her reverie, she gazed at the island she once called home. 

"Everything is so… different."

Her tone was that of reluctance with an air of nostalgia. 

The people were living in decent conditions, but not living happily. They lacked the vibrance that would be otherwise present in such a bustling Kingdom; the colourful city was seemingly gray.

"To think those smiles and laughs I heard while growing up could become so void and silent," The anger carved deep in the words was apparent. 

Her people had their happiness stolen. She could not fix that. She lost her 'princess' attitude a long time ago. The only thing left was desperation for vengeance. 

Hunting down pirates to pay for the aid of someone worse to aid in her revenge was the original goal. Yet along the way, she met someone who gave her another option. 

Rather than resigning from her hopes by blindingly trusting an Underworld Emperor, she instead was shown tools and tactics to complete her objectives.

Beyond the aid given to her, she also felt something else—the comfort of having a companion. Though she knew the pirate who helped her had his reasons, it was a lost sensation which was blanketed under a sheet of gloom and darkness. 

A small smile stretched on her visage recalling her tough training on the island at the bottom of the ocean.

The Sin Incarnate had become an anchor in her mind. One that could either keep her afloat or one that could pull her into the endless abyss.

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[Pirate Paradise of Hachinosu, The New World]

Shing!

A sharp hum went off as a dark sword slashed through the air.

Clang!

However, it met an immovable object; one tough enough to let out the sound of a gong, as if a thick metal was hitting a far sturdier and denser one.

Yet the odd thing was that the obstruction was no metal… rather, an arm!

"A sharp blade won't make up for a dull attack like that, Indra."

Damien's casual words and appearance were quite the contrast to that of Indra, who was breathing heavily and covered in sweat.

*Bang* *Clang* *Dumm*

The sword went on an onslaught of attacks while beads of sweat fell over the soil below.

Damien continued to use his forearm as a shield, meeting every slash with his open skin. Minutes went on.

…

Indra retreated a few steps.

"Your skin is tougher than any metal I've come across, Commander," he said with some disappointment.

Yet this dismay was overtaken with surprise.

The thought of Damien taking all his hits with just his skin, in addition to not even an ounce of Armament Haki! 'Whatever is below the skin is tougher than diamonds!' Indra exclaimed.

.

Damien was quite satisfied.

It was the result of his newly attained {Black Bones (II)}.

Having seeped his Haki into the outer two layers of every bone in his body over the past six months was quite an accomplishment.

Unfortunately, the duration for further upgrades required more and more. The harder the skin, the harder the attacks and training need to be to help the Haki seep in further. 

.

Indra's eyes sharpened as he regained his breathing.

*Fwwizz*

A quick screech of the air and he was now tens of meters in the sky, popping through the air.

His dark demeanour contrasted with the coming attack as torrents of air began to wrap around his body. The wind superimposed upon one another as they began to form the shape of a giant peacock in the air, spreading its glorious wings.

.

"One Sword Style: Beautiful Death!"

.

The surrounding region was overtaken by the colourful dawn of the attack as it charged upon its opponent.

[Image of the Attack (in Discord)]

Damien leaked a small smile as he felt the cuts of the attack. They were scrapping and shredding away at his body before the attack even got near him; a combination of chaotic and concentrated winds.

The attack took seconds to befall the younger pirate, who simply raised out a single arm in return.

*Purrup* Crimson energy began to swarm over the palm, gathering into a swirling, almost gaseous state.

*Szzz*

The air sizzled as the red particles shot out in a wide net-like formation. The pulverizing energy immediately transformed into a large barrier.

.

"Devoured Space."

.

The energy had compacted and set in place and began to devour and eat up the free space in front of it, much like a hungry beast. 

*Skkkkr* *Kururu*

The air beyond was turned into a pure void, free of any disturbances.

Indra's attack hit the shield and unlike its spectacular appearance, it made no sound. Rather, all the sound waves were eaten up and left a deafening silence!

Damien's defense easily outplayed the attack as it began to fizzle away, devoured into nothing.

[Devoured Space Image (in Discord)]

Indra seemed to expect this result as he abandoned the move and reappeared behind Damien's towering figure.

"Ugh!"

Yet before he could even take advantage of the position, his body was shot away from a sweeping kick, drilling into a faraway tree.

Boom!

The pirate went through three tough trees before finally coming to a stop.

*Cough* *Cough*

The dark-skinned man let out some dull coughs mixed with some blood. 'He countered my hit before I could even think it through… As always, he has an incredible Observation Haki.' 

Damien walked up to his fallen comrade, offering a hand. "Let's call it a day," he said while pulling Indra to his feet.

The two stood face to face. 

The Sin Incarnate had grown quite a lot under the extraordinary diet of highly nutritious Sea King feasts daily. An inch shy of 11 feet in height (3.3 meters)!

Damien glanced at his sole subordinate's pensive look. "Rest up, it's almost time to take down the Overlord."

…

[Later]

Damien was in the main eatery of the island, with empty seats within a small radius of him.

It had become a tradition for the pirates to give space to the 'Sin Incarnate' as his previous actions of liquifying some newer recruits some months back. Damien appreciated the silence; giving him time to peacefully eat his meal. 

"…"

"WORORO! I'm ready, Damien, let's sail!"

It didn't take much to know which loudmouth the words were coming from.

Damien sighed, his quiet meal disrupted: "What do you think you're doing, Kaido?"

The ginormous pirate was overly giddy, ready to go on an adventure. Though his adventure was filled with blood and desire for the slaughter of stronger foes.

"You think we can just sail on in with a single little boat into the territory of an Overlord?"

Kaido pondered, or so it seemed.

"Hmm… Enigma has a few more brain-controlled slaves than my club can keep up with, I say we fly in and behead him before any of his armies can react!"

Damien paused.

Kaido's words had degrees of feasibility, even aligning with what the red-eyed pirate already had in mind. 

"Maybe so, but you keep looking at an Overlord as if he was some lamb to be slaughtered," Damien said, rolling his eyes. "Beyond that, it is no easy task to outmaneuver a man known to be the most intelligent among the seas. If anything, the simpler the plan, the higher its chance of success."

Kaido scratched his head. "Whatever…"

Damien paid no mind to the Hundred-Beast.

He cleaned up his table, unlike practically all pirates on this island, he was taught etiquette by his mother. 

In doing so, it gave him a moment to reach a plausible option: "But there is someone who can help us with the flying part…"

…

[A Little While Later]

"Let me get this straight, you want me to fly you brats up and into the very center of that bastard Enigma's merry little castle?"

The man talking was naturally the notorious Golden Lion Shiki!

Damien and Kaido stood side by side, though widely different in height.

Shiki leaned in a little, looking at the two young pirates with some interest. "You take me as some kind of public transport?" he questioned with a thunderous voice, sending golden strands of Haki out.

Kaido raised his hand, appearing to say something rather obtrusive.

"Well if you want, we can tip you Enigma's gold, "Damien interrupted, almost as if he saw a foul result coming. 

Shiki hummed at the words, narrowing his eyes.

"It's not a bad thought, running a Division as large as mine can be a costly thing…" His eyes then gleamed a dangerous gold. "Alright kid, you got yourself a deal."

Damien smirked at the words, unsurprised by them, and promised, "Don't worry, I always keep my word."

Shiki just grunted in response while spitting out, "We leave tomorrow morning."

He then flew away, leaving behind a golden streak.

.

Kaido seemed displeased: "Oye, Damien, don't go around making compromises for what you want, it's not what a pirate does!"

"I'll use force when I'm strong enough to take more than a single hit from him," Damien glared at the hulking fellow beside him. "You should do the same or one day your thick skin won't hold up."

The words had merit.

Damien had seen the strength of the Golden Lion in the past few months.

The Float-Float Fruit was an absurdly powerful Devil Fruit that gave its user the ability to telekinetically move any non-living thing that they had once come in contact with.

A single attack by the man could render most dead; trying to hold off dozens of falling landmasses from the sky and most could only imagine what Shiki could do when he was pissed. 

Add in a masterful two-sword style combat specialist and it's quite the disaster; his bounty was even higher than Whitebeard's!

"..."

Kaido knew this too, but his war-born desire to use his fists rather than his words always took over his thoughts, forcing him to walk away without a reply.

.

Damien began to ready himself for the coming mission: an Overlord, though considered the weakest of the three, would naturally be no pushover.

"The greater the difficulty, the greater the rewards, anime taught me that much," Damien muttered under his breath.

His eyes were currently matching in colour of the setting sun, unconsciously unleashing some Haki in the thought of the imminent clash.

Some nearby pirates shuddered as their backs turned cold and ran to the sides, avoiding the walking monster.

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[Marineford]

While the Sin Incarnate was wrapping up his training and preparing to leave for his new mission, a storm was currently blowing around the main Marine base of operations.

Thousands of marines were running around as countless cannons and weapons were loaded on huge battleships.

They were under a new order to expand their naval fleet to combat the growing chaos that ensued in the New World.

However, another problem had emerged, much to the Five Elders' displeasure.

…

[Fleet Admiral's Office]

Currently, there are five marines seated.

The Fleet Admiral sat at his desk.

The seats in front of him were taken by three people. Admiral Basara and Admiral Sengoku sat with serious expressions, their arms crossed across their chests. There was also the third Admiral who was seated by the side with a steaming cup of tea.

A soft breeze swarmed in and filled the room with a fresh scent.

.

They were talking about how to move forward with the orders of the Five Elders.

Garp was also there, but he was in his own world, munching on his endless supply of rice crackers.

*Bang!* At that time, the doors blew open as a Vice Admiral ran in with a very solemn expression. "F-Fleet Admiral!" he yelled in salute.

"What is it?" Kong asked.

"U-Um… I come bearing the words from the Marine Criminal Intelligence Service!"

His words drew the attention of the five monsters seated in the office.

The Vice Admiral gulped as he finished his report, though his voice only grew heavier upon every word.

"Director Hakuchō's top informants have confirmed that the 'Evil Spirit' Charlotte Linlin has set up a meeting with the Overlord Thaddeus Enigma in three days!"

"..."

"What!?"

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Marine Criminal Investigative Service was introduced near the end of Wano. 

In the anime, they called it the "Naval Bureau of Investigation" which I thought sounded like a cheap version of the FBI so I kept the manga name. You may see it as MCIS later on. 

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q